The present invention relates generally to improvements in apparatus and methods for loading articles into a container. More specifically, the invention relates to the loading into a container of a group of articles which are to be maintained in a predetermined pattern or relationship with respect to one another. The invention has particular application to the loading of pliable packages of fragile items, such as bakery goods, into containers such as trays or baskets.
In a modern bakery plant, bakery products such as bread, rolls or the like are typically handled along a production line. For example, in the production of loaves of sliced bread, the loaves come from an oven, pass through a cooling station then go through a slicing station, a bagger and finally to a container loader for loading the bags of sliced bread into containers such as trays, baskets or the like. The loaded containers may then be stacked or undergo other handling prior to warehousing or shipping. Ideally, a bakery will run a plurality of such production lines simultaneously in parallel. The various lines may be producing identical product or different lines may be producing different variations of the product. For example, different lines may be packaging the product in bags or packages bearing different labels for different customers. Each of the simultaneously-operating production lines must be serviced with container handling systems for delivering empty containers to the production line and removing filled containers therefrom. It is highly desirable to be able to service all of the production lines by the same container handling system.
One prior type of container loading apparatus is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,292 issued to Euverard et al. That system utilizes a turntable-type orienter for orienting groups of packaged articles and forming then into predetermined patterns. The patterns are then moved onto a loading plate which is retracted against a stop to drop the pattern of articles onto a set of retractable pins which extend upwardly through holes in the bottom of an empty container. The pins are retracted to lower the pattern of articles into the container. The containers are fed to and removed from the loading station in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the articles along the production line. Thus, this arrangement does not lend itself to a plurality of such loading systems being serviced by the same tray handling system.
Another type of container loader is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,620 to Euverard et al., in which the retractable plate is replaced by a window conveyor. The window conveyor forms an endless vertical loop, the product being delivered onto the upper reach of the loop and the retractable-pin container loading device being disposed inside the loop. The patent does not disclose the tray handling apparatus, but it is clear that the trays must be moved to and from the loading position in directions laterally of the window conveyor. Such an arrangement can serve only one production line at a time, because once the tray is in the loading position, no other trays can pass therethrough to other production lines. Vertical movement of the trays is prohibited by the vertically reciprocating pin arrangement.
Other types of loading systems represented, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 2,815,870, utilize a window conveyor for loading pallets. But the pallets are moved vertically at the loading station while they are being loaded, thereby preventing empty containers from passing through the loading station to other production lines duirng the loading operation.